Chapter 7 - Surprise II

   We didn't have that much trouble getting Junior into the car. Not just because we called him beforehand and had it set up, either. He's gone from nervous or even scared to spend time with her, as a start. Through the middling period of having to spend time with her periodically, to service her computer network for the cutting house.

   He was still uncomfortable when she took him out to nice dinners, and even more when she insisted on making him dinners at her place. He started periodically cornering Panic when he came in for the weekend to the range, and making sure this wasn't going to get him into any hot water. Panic always reassured him, it was more than fine.

   He's more comfortable now, and even sometimes stays over. I hear about it afterwards. He sleeps on her giant white leather couch.

   He was one of the new breed FBI agents slowly growing in number. As tech increased, they had to hire more technicians. Its not enough. They need agents that can straddle the fence. Between standard issue "football fraternity" agents, the old guard. And the new tech savvy agents.

   Junior left the basement computer tech pool, to go through the academy. Mike found him on the giant case Panic was on, when our paths crossed. JG ended up being instrumental on the case. A huge surveillance project was what it took to seal the deal. That was all him, and Mike needed someone that spoke martian, to man all the techs out in the field. Because if you let traditional, what Panic calls "football agents", be in charge of the techs? They fuck with the techs. And the techs start fucking back with them. It gets in the way, the leader has to settle little kid squabbles all the time. Its frustrating, and it ruins morale and teamwork.

   Putting JG in charge of the techs? He's their hero. He came out of the basement computer tomb, and he's a full agent. Now, well on his way to becoming a senior agent. He's highly effective as a tech agent? And he's more than capable as a regular agent in the other regards. Particularly planning and ideas. Mike uses him for his tech ability, particularly surveillance and online work. He's also the perfect thing, to put in charge of any fielded tech groups.

   He's bilingual. He speaks both "agent" and "martian".

   And just like Little Robbie found out down at the equator? The guy that's better at the rougher end of things, needs a big brain that operates fast next to him. For planning, for quick decisions in the field. Panic and Junior seem to have this similar relationship.

   Panic called his adversary... The Devil, among other things. Even he admits, that the Devil and his minions would still be running around were it not for JG. The techs were used as extra hands in the field when everything went down in the end. There were only supposed to be a couple girls present, none of them armed. The techs had no trouble laying hands on them.

   It was plan B time, when several men were closing in from the other end of the wilderness where this was going down. Mike had locals and state police barracks on standby, and sent "everybody" out to try to contain some manner of dragnet around the situation. Mike was on "Site A" where it was considered most likely this crew would wander into the net.

   JG was put in charge of "Site B", and things started going to hell. Winter. Icy rain, turning into balls of ice. The standard FBI issue field ponchos? Panic snapped because it had alerted the guys and spooked them before the manpower could close around them. They got most of them, but the Devil's right hand man got into the underbrush and almost escaped. The ice balls sounding off of the ponchos had done it.

   Panic was in no mood to lose his prize, after all the time and risk that had gone into this. He'd almost gotten killed already, and wouldn't take no for an answer. Rather than wait and depend on the state police and all the locals closing in, Panic grabbed Junior. Poncho off. You're going hunting, with me.

   When JG entered the ancient mine the locals had nicknamed "the Deathtrap" because it was falling in? Panic sent him back out.

   He knocked out the old locust posts holding up the mine that the earth was slowly reclaiming. He dropped the entrance, sealing himself in with his quarry. Then he played cat and mouse, in the pitch black and freezing water. It was flooded.

   JG kept his cool, and waited for Panic's "dot" on his laptop to reappear. When it finally did? He coordinated all the LEO manpower, by now all around, to converge on the new location. They had popped up on the far side of a road that was considered a safe edge to hold to contain the quarry.

   Without JG? The guy would have gotten away, and been outside the dragnet.

   It was years later, when without his surveillance expertise? We'd have never got a handle on the wild situation developing. It was not only that, his way of thinking? Led to the big break in the case. I must say, it was very satisfying to finally have Panic and two other former Redwater Group military contractors hunting the two men that thought they had finally got their prey alone and closed in on it.

   Little Lightning was the bait.

   We found out after it was all done and over, what they had in mind. We already knew they meant to kill her. What we didn't know was that they intended to cut her apart. Taking their time. They had rubber tourniquets and little blowtorches, too. Panic had to let me know, that was to prolong the fun.

   Yeah, we never shared that particular piece of information with Light. She's been through enough. But? Ever since then, well. She took a real shine to Junior. Its a matter of time.

   Panic will never cease to amaze me, I don't think. When the chase started and disappeared into the woods in the cold rain, it was all over but the crying. These two fools? Had forgotten a crucial piece of data, that they of all people knew. These were two of the dirty cops from her criminalized home town. They were trying to catch a girl who's claim to fame, one of them, anyways? Was her speed.

   Hey. The girls soccer world didn't nickname her, among other things... Little Lightning, for nothing. She was sitting at Wizzy's grave, on the anniversary night of his murder. When she took off in soccer spikes, in the cold rain and all the mud? They might as well have been chasing a house cat running for its life.

   She had to slow up, to keep them following.

   And yes, with her in the lead... three very competent former military contractors were closing in. I already knew how good they were at the game, I had seen Little Robbie and Panic play this game before. Playtime.

   No, what amazed me? After they had all disappeared and were long gone. Me and Mike were set to go where we already knew this would all end up at. That, was when we heard it. I swear, a noise like you've never heard in your life. Scarier than anything Hollywood sound guys could dream up to put in a movie.

   We froze, and that's me, Mike and Junior who was still with us at that moment. It was simply an explosion of noise. Clearly a scream, but... like nothing you can even imagine a human being should be capable of making. It continued to grow in volume and met up with its own echoes in the night. It didn't quit. It seemed like a minute long, and kept growing in volume and intensity before it died out.

   Mike just looked at me, and JG had big eyes too. You would swear you had just heard an honest to god demon announcing its presence. I don't care if you had a gun on you in the night woods? You would not move in the direction of where you thought that had originated from. You would freeze. Your hair would stand on end. Your blood would run ice cold. When you finally got your shit together? You would run as fast as your feet could carry you, in whatever direction you thought was the opposite direction of where that came from.

   Because that's not the sound of a man. Its not the sound of an animal, either. That's the sound of... other.

   I kind of knew it was one of those three. I kind of narrowed it down to Panic or Little Robbie, and I admit? I hunched that was Rob. I asked Panic later. The hell was that noise. I'll never forget his response. Off the cuff, like about anything else.

   "Huh? Oh. I heard something. Don't even know, honey. I was kind of busy, if you remember."

   I cornered Little Robbie, all six and a half feet of him later on, again at a weekend campfire party at the range. When I pressed him, he just shrugged. Sipped his beer.

   "Well. What do you think it was, Merry."

   "Eh. Kinda figured, it was one of you guys. You know, scaring them."

   "Yep yep."

   "Well?"

   "Well what."

   "Which one of you was it."

   Another sip.

   "Why don't we start, with what it was."

   "Someone screaming, obviously."

   He sipped his beer, and looked off.

   "That's not a scream, Merry. Back in the old days? Vikings, in particular. Real warriors, were expected to have a battle cry. It served primarily, to get the guys worked up. They're all standing there, weapons in hand, ready to take the enemy on. Face to face, hand to hand. When a thousand men, facing two thousand men... make noise like that? Its meant to terrify the enemy."

   He paused. I waited. Another sip. He doesn't chug beer, he takes these tiny little sips. He sighed.

   "We typically stayed silent. But. There are times, that its useful. When a small group of us would run, followed by a larger force. When we finally stop, and get ready to take it to them? That's the battle cry. Its meant to instill fear, and primal dread in the enemy. The tables have turned. We're not prey anymore. We're on the hunt now. Or, we're going to stand our ground and dare them to come and get some."

   I waited.

   "We also used it for other purposes. Sometimes, a limited number of us were closing in on a small formation. We're, you know. Hunting. We wait until they're in, like... say, a valley formation. We're all following, ahead of them, to the sides. We need to know where each other are, and to time the start of the final hunt."

   Another sip.

   "We now know the rough locations of each other, and that its time to move in. In this case? It signals the start of the hunt. And if it locates and times us, that's the main purpose. But... if it rattles the prey, well, so much the better. Men in fear for their lives, lose their shit. Run blind, and gas out. They're very easy to catch up to, if you keep your head and run them to ground."

   I waited a little.

   "That's... what, it was. I guess you made it? You were the leader."

   "Merry? Can I have one of your smokes?"

   I gave him one. He rarely has a smoke. He lit it, and inhaled and exhaled a few times.

   "Team Sigma, was a larger thing. We were divided up into smaller groups. They're called cells, and we can operate both independently of one another, or get coordinated around an objective. I was my cell's leader, not the whole Team Sigma. I led Sigma Delta."

   I waited.

   "That night. Once surprise was over, and the chase was on. It fanned out in the dark, wet woods and hills. Some behind, some getting around to the sides. The time eventually came. They were winded. It was time, to start to close in. To engage."

   I waited. He took his last long drag, and stubbed it out.

   "What you heard? That was your sweet little Panic's... well? That's his battle cry."

   "Oh."

   He sighed again, as he stood up to go back and join the campfire ring again. He paused with his back to me, briefly.

   "Merry?"

   "Yeah."

   "We're friends, right? Not acquaintances. Friends. I know you know the difference."

   "Sure."

   "Then I trust you. If you would stay friends with me, and not go back to a high level acquaintance?"

   "Anything."

   "You'll never tell him, that I told you that."

   "Okay. But, why."

   "Because. He asked me not to. I guess, after you asked him, and he blew you off."

   "Why though."

   "Because he loves you, Merry. He doesn't want you to be scared of him."

   "Oh."

   "So. I have your word?"

   "Yeah."

   "See you when you get back to the fire, Merry."

   He wandered back, and I followed soon after.